He’s a square shooter

This was uttered by Mark Shields on the NPR News Hour, referring to John McCain.  It is a congruent conflation of “straight shooter” and “fair and square”, describing a person who plays by the rules and is honest and trustworthy.  Interestingly, a “square john” is someone who obeys the rules – http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/square+john

Here’s to John McCain, a true American hero and certainly square shooter.

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